‘Vandalism’: outcry over plans to replace Notre
Dame Cathedral’s chapel windows
Thousands sign petition challenging Macron-backed
restoration that would add contemporary design to building
Kim
Willsher
Tue 26 Dec
2023 14.26 CET
A plan
backed by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to replace stained-glass
windows in Notre Dame Cathedral’s side chapels with contemporary creations has
been criticised as “vandalism”.
A petition
has been signed by more than 120,000 people to retain the original windows.
Critics say the change would destroy the architectural harmony of the
historical building that was ravaged by fire in April 2019.
During a
visit to the 13th-century cathedral this month, Macron announced the windows in
six of the seven chapels in the south aisle would be removed and replaced by
contemporary stained-glass windows that would be chosen in a competition.
The idea is
reported to have originated from the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, who
wrote to the Élysée saying he would like to see the state commission a series
of six new windows.
Macron
responded that the idea had his full approval. The windows identified for
replacement, designed by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who also added
the spire in the mid-19th century, were not touched by the fire and would be
put on display in a newly created Notre Dame Museum, the president said.
Now, more
than 122,000 people have signed a petition launched just over a fortnight ago
calling for the original windows to remain.
“The
stained glass windows in Notre Dame designed by Viollet-le-Duc were created as
a coherent whole. It is a genuine creation that the architect wanted to be
faithful to the cathedral’s gothic origins,” it reads.
Didier
Rykner, the founder and editor of the online magazine La Tribune de l’Art who
created the petition, said a far better contemporary gesture would be to
commission new windows for the cathedral’s north tower, where the battle by
firefighters to save the edifice was most fierce.
“As you can
see from some of the videos, the cathedral has bays without stained glass
windows, closed only by white skylights. Installing stained-glass windows in
these would not detract from the harmony intended by Viollet-le-Duc, and would
enhance the cathedral,” wrote Rykner, who is a high-profile commentator on
France’s architectural heritage.
“It would
also have a magnificent symbolic role: it was in the north tower, when they
fought the fire that threatened to bring down the bells and, in turn, the
cathedral, that the firefighters risked their lives to save the monument.
Paying tribute to the firefighters, bringing new stained-glass windows to Notre
Dame without vandalising Viollet-le-Duc’s work, giving future visitors more to
see: this commonsense solution could suit everyone.”
Hours after
the blaze, Macron had suggested he was in favour of a “contemporary gesture” in
the rebuilding of the cathedral that would open next December, suggesting a new
spire could be “inventive”.
After
vehement public opposition, the president abandoned the idea. The new 96-metre
(315ft) spire, installed in November, looks identical to the one destroyed by
flames.
The
cathedral is due to reopen on 8 December 2024.
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